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To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful Movie!
Review: My young boys enjoyed this movie. The lessons it teaches concerning tolerance and the racial inequalities of the time period portrayed, make it a useful resource to parents and educators. I would certainly encourage the use of this movie as a way of enhancing the novel by Harper Lee.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An absorbing, moving film - almost as good as the book!
Review: I had loved the book of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and we were made to watch this film in English class. I found it very touching, owing to all the performances of the actors, particularly that of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. The Tom Robinson trial was handed with sensitivity, as was the reclusive Boo Radley. The moral messages still came through as strong as the novel, and though some essential parts were left out, it still was an exceptional film that tugged at the heartstrings and left a satisfied taste in the mouth.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great moive!!
Review: This is a very good movie!! I loved it, I watched after I read the book. This can really teach you a lesson, and remind you that people are mean to other, or treat each other unfairly because of the color of their skin. This is a good moive for kids who want to learn.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Boring to no end.
Review: I had to watch this film in school and it was so boring it gave me a headache! I have honestly never seen such a boring movie in all my life. It drags along at a snails pace and it seems like it's been on for years before the end credits role. How can people think this is a great film? I can't speak highly of the novel (just as boring, if not more so than the movie) but the whole story is just dumb and uninteresting. 30 minutes in to the film I already knew who was putting the stuff in the tree and I had never seen it previously. So I must say that I thoroughly disliked To Kill A Mockingbird and I don't recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great DVD presentation for a great film.
Review: It goes without saying that the film itself is wonderful, but how are the contents of the DVD? This disc contains a few extras, all of which are very good. There are, of course, the requisite bios and production notes, but the running commentary and feature-length documentary are what make this worth spending the money.

The commentary is by director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula, and offers many insights into making the film. There are a couple of drawbacks to this commentary, one of which is Pakula talks very softly at times, making him difficult to understand. Another minor drawback is that when not offering great information, Pakula and Mulligan are often complimenting each other and all involved on what a great job they did on the film. This is not really a bad thing, as it's almost as if they can't believe that it came out as well as it did.

The documentary, "Fearful Symmetry," appears to be made especially for this DVD. It of course covers some of the same ground as the commentary, since Mulligan and Pakula are both interviewed, but it is a delight to see and hear from Gregory Peck, Phillip Alford (Jem), Mary Badham (Scout), Robert Duvall, Brock Peters and others. Alford and Badham spin great tales about their experiences making the film and appear to have no regrets. You won't have any regrets making this DVD part of your collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Hot Summer Night
Review: This movie brings back so many memories of my own childhood. The daily antics of childhood's long summer days are portrayed with simple ease and grace. The part played by Gregory Peck was played with such integrity and is a splendid thing to watch especially with children as they are not too often afforded the opportunity to see such a role model as this. This movie makes it so easy to remember. I love to set the mood when I watch this movie. I prefer to watch it with the windows wide open and the lights low on a hot summer night. I'll remember it always as I hope my children and yours will too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME!
Review: I can't write about Harper Lee's novel, the Pulitzer Prize, the Ocsar nominations from this film, or any of the other big worded babble I see in many other reviews. I can only write about my own simple feelings, so here goes:

I first saw TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD along about 1975 on late night TV. I was about twelve years old at the time. My parents had just bought a farm in the country and they spent a lot of time there. I was allowed to stay home in the city alone. Well, sort of alone, my grandmother lived right next door and kept a watchful eye over me. Never the less, this was my chance to watch the old movies they played on late night TV.

I was completely into this movie. I couldn't get up from the floor where I was sitting in front of the television set. No small feat to accomplish with a twelve year old boy. At the time, I was only a couple of years older than the character Gem, Atticus Finch's ten year old son. This movie, on this night in 1975, changed my view of life forever.

My father, born and raised in the time this film occurs, was very opinionated of those who were of a different race. He had no use for violent racism whatsoever, but Atticus Finch he wasn't either. While I loved my father dearly, this film helped me understand that he wasn't always right. The film also made me understand that remarks and opinions weren't always just about race. Sometimes, as with Boo Radley, they were about the people down the street, be they different in any way. My father was guilty of this sin too. Again, I learned that all of his opinions did not have to become mine.

White, Black, Comfortable, Poor, Smart, Slow, Good, Evil, Fun, Serious, Laughter, Fear. All the elements are here, as seen through the eyes of children. Sometimes, we know not what we do to our children because of the way they see things. This film awakens us to that fact. All of these lessons taught in a film of kids having fun. Oh man, I wish they still made tires big enough to ride inside of.

Crayons, marbles, pocket watches, oh the simplicity of what is fun in children's eyes. Despite our present day culture of buying loads of manufactured toys and games, most young children would just as soon throw out the toys and play with the boxes. Mason jars, hot summer evenings, and fireflies are also more fun than any amount of money can buy.

I had spent years looking for a VHS copy of this movie, and finally found this version....I went and purchased the Wide Screen Edition immediately. I find myself popping this in, late at night, and reliving the experience I had at twelve. It happens every time, I have to stop whatever else I may be doing and watch attentively.

I play this for my six year old son every chance I get. I too, think that this is required viewing for children six through twelve. I really believe he'll learn something about life, and will have fun doing it. It also gives me ideas, like finding the largest motorcycle tire I could find and tying it up with rope to our maple tree in the front yard, making a swing out of it. And despite what my neighbors may think, believing it right to do so. How about going to a yardsale and buying an old scratched up toy car for less than a buck and placing it in a tree knothole for him to find. There is no way to measure the level of excitement, and that scratched up old toy car becomes his favorite toy. Even Christmas can't compare, because he knows it's comming.

Repeated viewings of this film makes me a better father. It makes me remember to think like a six year old again. So what if the boys create a dirt figure 8 track for their toy cars right in the front yard. If the neighbors don't like it, maybe they should move. Or better yet, maybe I should loan them my copy of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An American Classic
Review: Certain films define not only their particular genre, but also their country. For me, as a Canadian, this film has always embodied the best and worst of what exemplifies southern American culture. It deals with children, with racial issues, with the persistent matter of "differentness" that lies at the heart of every person's most significant issues. To be "different" is to be isolated; it's an issue that embraces personality, ethnicity, skin color, economic level--everything, really. And this film deals with that matter on several levels. It is, to my mind Gregory Peck's more memorable performance, embodying as he does the ideals by which we can only try to live. And it was Robert Duvall's debut film performance as the spooky, seldom-seen, but everpresent Boo Radley. This is, in the truest sense, an American classic: affecting, powerful, and wonderfully faithful to the book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a great classic
Review: peck turns in a great performance (and so does robert duvall in his debut) in one of the most awesomely done black and white classics. amazingly contemporary cinematography and direction give way to a highly interesting and very well written story with tons of great characters. this movie comes very highly recommended as one to own.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest American movie ever made
Review: True to the novel from which it was drawn, this movie combines a number of stellar performances from a tremendously talented cast to produce what I think of as the quintessential American film. The issues it deals with are the big ones- love, death, growing up and racism- and it views them through the clear eyes of a young child. I've been watching this film at least once a year since I was a child. It still never fails to move me.


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